You're never too old...to be a student again
Yoga Teacher Training
AYM Ashram
Yoga Teacher Training
AYM Ashram
Skipping up the dusty path and singing a joyous "Namaste" to whomever I met, I arrived at the sizable, 4-story ashram like an excited schoolgirl on her first day of class. No backpack, calculator or lunch pale was necessary for this school, however. The only compulsory material was of an intangible nature. It was a will. A will to be transformed.
Climbing a wide, stone staircase, I reached the roof of the ashram - the location of our Yoga Teacher Training initiation ceremony. Stepping out of the cool corridor and onto the exposed rooftop, I was greeted by the 108 degree heat of Rishikesh summer. The heat penetrated my thin cotton tunic with ease causing my skin to bead sweat faster than the rains of monsoon.
Joining a handful of other students, all swathed in white, we positioned ourselves under a marquee supported by thick branches and covered in shards of tin and thatch. Thankfully, the shade provided a slight reprieve from the sun as did an aimless breeze meandering between us.
Lowering myself onto a floor of coarse, muted blankets, I entered one of yoga’s favored meditation poses. Not for it’s difficulty, but for it’s relative ease. Sitting cross-legged with your back straight and hands on your knees. As a child I knew this as “sitting Indian-style” but as an adult just lowering into this position seemed like a thing of the past.
One by one, students arrived until we formed a semi-circle around a small, freestanding fire pit. Of course, fire is the last thing one would require in this heat but, as I’m learning, fire is a critical component to the Hindu way of life.
Climbing a wide, stone staircase, I reached the roof of the ashram - the location of our Yoga Teacher Training initiation ceremony. Stepping out of the cool corridor and onto the exposed rooftop, I was greeted by the 108 degree heat of Rishikesh summer. The heat penetrated my thin cotton tunic with ease causing my skin to bead sweat faster than the rains of monsoon.
Joining a handful of other students, all swathed in white, we positioned ourselves under a marquee supported by thick branches and covered in shards of tin and thatch. Thankfully, the shade provided a slight reprieve from the sun as did an aimless breeze meandering between us.
Lowering myself onto a floor of coarse, muted blankets, I entered one of yoga’s favored meditation poses. Not for it’s difficulty, but for it’s relative ease. Sitting cross-legged with your back straight and hands on your knees. As a child I knew this as “sitting Indian-style” but as an adult just lowering into this position seemed like a thing of the past.
One by one, students arrived until we formed a semi-circle around a small, freestanding fire pit. Of course, fire is the last thing one would require in this heat but, as I’m learning, fire is a critical component to the Hindu way of life.
Palms pressed together in a well seasoned prayer pose, Yogi Chetan Mahesh welcomed us with a serene bow. Dressed in a neatly pressed, canary yellow kurta pajama top with a dark yellow, sarong-style wrap around his legs, Yogi Mahesh appeared to have just returned from enlightenment and levitated from a nearby temple. The expression on his face shown nothing but acceptance and his inner light and calm demeanor warmed each of our souls.
On one side of Yogi Mahesh sat the “master of ceremonies”, a priest of sorts. Busying himself with flowers, incense and candles, he prepared for the hallowed puja ceremony. Puja is the most important aspect of Hindu worship. It is a prayer ritual used to worship a god or to spiritually celebrate an event. In this case, our initiation into yoga teacher training. |
On the other side of Yogi Mahesh sat an elderly woman dressed in a deep green spree - Mahesh’s mother. I’m still not sure which was more crooked, her permanently hunched back or her desperately crooked eyeglasses. Gazing out from behind the thick spectacles, her face offered an unobstructed look into her life. Deep creases under her eyes carried a lifetime of hard work. Permanently pressed lips, a frog-like seal, offered a lesson in discipline. And her serious, yet softly lined brow, reminded us to laugh every now and then. Muttering quietly to herself while Yogi Mahesh's completed his welcome, she sparked to life when he began the opening mantra. Singing along to his beautifully trained voice, her lifelong devotion to the gods became evident.
Now it was our turn. Breathing in deeply we exhaled our first, of many, symphonic Om’s ("Aum's"). High pitch, low pitch and somewhere in between, each of our respective Om’s joined together as if they were never apart.
Yogi Mahesh and the priest continued the Om’s with a lengthy and intricate mantra. Human eyes closed with third eye open, they chanted sacred Sankrit words. I too, closed my eyes and let the mantra take hold of my mind. Focusing on my third eye, any clear thought I had before the mantra slowly began to disintegrate. I wanted to get lost in this warm, fuzzy feeling but then, like a runaway freight train, my mind began chugging way from this station of peace and solace. “What will the course be like? Where is everyone from? What's for lunch?” Stop, Stop, Stop! Just as my mind began flying off the tracks, the melodic mantra ended and Yogi Mahesh brought us back to our breath. Phew, saved by the breath.
“Why are you here,” Mahesh asked. It was a rhetorical question of course, but one that is not so easily answered. Spiritual awareness and physical health go without saying, I quietly considered, but what I truly seek is mental peace and balanced thinking. Something I clearly struggle with, as my runaway freight train would suggest. He then asked us to promise one thing to ourselves. “To be open and willing to transform during this course.” Errr!!! My train slammed on the breaks and rumbled to a stop at a station I had never visited before. The station of transformation. I affirmed to myself that, “Yes, I am willing to transform”.
Now it was our turn. Breathing in deeply we exhaled our first, of many, symphonic Om’s ("Aum's"). High pitch, low pitch and somewhere in between, each of our respective Om’s joined together as if they were never apart.
Yogi Mahesh and the priest continued the Om’s with a lengthy and intricate mantra. Human eyes closed with third eye open, they chanted sacred Sankrit words. I too, closed my eyes and let the mantra take hold of my mind. Focusing on my third eye, any clear thought I had before the mantra slowly began to disintegrate. I wanted to get lost in this warm, fuzzy feeling but then, like a runaway freight train, my mind began chugging way from this station of peace and solace. “What will the course be like? Where is everyone from? What's for lunch?” Stop, Stop, Stop! Just as my mind began flying off the tracks, the melodic mantra ended and Yogi Mahesh brought us back to our breath. Phew, saved by the breath.
“Why are you here,” Mahesh asked. It was a rhetorical question of course, but one that is not so easily answered. Spiritual awareness and physical health go without saying, I quietly considered, but what I truly seek is mental peace and balanced thinking. Something I clearly struggle with, as my runaway freight train would suggest. He then asked us to promise one thing to ourselves. “To be open and willing to transform during this course.” Errr!!! My train slammed on the breaks and rumbled to a stop at a station I had never visited before. The station of transformation. I affirmed to myself that, “Yes, I am willing to transform”.
The puja ritual began with a purification process. Sprinkled over our heads first and then poured into our palms, water is the agent for cleansing one’s soul. The priest began by pouring a small amount of water into each of our palms for rinsing. He then poured another splash into our palms for drinking. And a final splash could be used for further rinsing or putting somewhere on your body. I chose my third eye. Offerings of white, orange and pink flowers came next followed by the most iconic portion of the ceremony, the application of bindi. |
"Using a mixture of turmeric, saffron, flowers, ash, rice and water, the priest created a paste. He then used his ring finger to place a dot of this maroon mixture between our eyebrows. This is a point of immense power. It is the spot of 'agna' chakra or what many call the, “third eye”. Hindus wear the bindi, or tilak, throughout the day as a reminder of what they are always striving for in life, awakening and self-realization.
Two gifts were presented next. Lei’s of fresh orange and white carnation flowers were thoughtfully placed around our necks followed by a bracelet made from red and yellow string. The priest tied it around our wrists 3 times and fastened it with a simple double knot. This was for good luck, as I recalled.
Purified, cleansed and swimming in flowers, we were ready for the fire ceremony. Yogi Mahesh provided a brief history of the importance of fire in Hindu culture. " It is both the creator and destroyer of life", he calmly stated. "It is a visible and potent energy that can change the state of matter. We (Hindus) believe that the process of burning things, frees them from their solid state so they can float freely in the atmosphere once again." He connected this explanation with the items we would burn. Mango branches, sandalwood, herbs, flowers, incense and oils, all known to have aruyvedic qualities when inhaled.
Two gifts were presented next. Lei’s of fresh orange and white carnation flowers were thoughtfully placed around our necks followed by a bracelet made from red and yellow string. The priest tied it around our wrists 3 times and fastened it with a simple double knot. This was for good luck, as I recalled.
Purified, cleansed and swimming in flowers, we were ready for the fire ceremony. Yogi Mahesh provided a brief history of the importance of fire in Hindu culture. " It is both the creator and destroyer of life", he calmly stated. "It is a visible and potent energy that can change the state of matter. We (Hindus) believe that the process of burning things, frees them from their solid state so they can float freely in the atmosphere once again." He connected this explanation with the items we would burn. Mango branches, sandalwood, herbs, flowers, incense and oils, all known to have aruyvedic qualities when inhaled.
In one easy swoop of his waning candle, the priest lit the dry kindling beneath the large mango branches and a fire burst to life. The flames rose higher and higher until everyone’s foreheads glistened with increasing perspiration and the aromatic smoke filled our lungs. Yogi Mahesh and the priest began another mantra and asked us to cast handfuls of dried herbs and spices into the fire at calculated points in the song. This magical fairy dust, errr, let's call it an enlightenment potpourri, caused the flames to crackle and surge towards the sky with each toss, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. |
By this point, my left foot had gone numb. Remember that "easy" cross-legged position I mentioned before? Well turns out it's not that easy. Maintaining a perfectly straight back and preventing movement of the knees for over an hour creates a pressure that many of us "western" travelers aren't familiar with. After all, chairs are for sitting, right? Not in India my friends.
Shifting my gaze from the fire to some of the other students, I wondered if they were feeling the same discomfort. Bugger, I commiserated with myself, everyone's faces reflected calm resolve and focused attention. Of course, the thought of being the first student to change position, or simply shift my weight by a centimeter, made me feel weak. Unworthy. But try as I might, I could no longer concentrate. My focus trained on the pools of sweat forming behind each and every crease of my aching knees along with the pale dead fish, I formerly knew as my foot. I looked into the fire and chanted silently to myself, "Om, please let us stand, Om".
Shifting my gaze from the fire to some of the other students, I wondered if they were feeling the same discomfort. Bugger, I commiserated with myself, everyone's faces reflected calm resolve and focused attention. Of course, the thought of being the first student to change position, or simply shift my weight by a centimeter, made me feel weak. Unworthy. But try as I might, I could no longer concentrate. My focus trained on the pools of sweat forming behind each and every crease of my aching knees along with the pale dead fish, I formerly knew as my foot. I looked into the fire and chanted silently to myself, "Om, please let us stand, Om".
My request was soon answered as the fire ceremony came to a close. The priest dipped a spoon into the freshly created ash and to it, added a few drops of purified water. This transformed into a grey paste which was placed just above the maroon bindi on our foreheads.
Closing my eyes and pressing my palms together once more in prayer, I listened to the final mantra. Thanking the universe for this moment, I did my best to erase thought from my mind. I hardly succeeded but where there is a will there is a way. I repeated to myself, "I want to be transformed. I will be transformed.” Now if only I could transform my dead foot into a functioning unit. May 15, 2016 * AYM stands for the Association of Yoga & Meditation. The ashram is located just outside of Rishikesh, on a quiet hill over looking town. I will be taking a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Course over the next 30 days. |
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